No more business as usual

I've been reading my husband's professional (architecture) literature for so many years, I think I could write the articles--at least the opinion pieces of the last 3 decades (social, cultural and green). But finally, a paragraph I support for its truth, yet question its suppositions.

"What's next? A year ago, the answer that no one foresaw would be "a pandemic." Though the COVID-19 pandemic will end, architecture cannot--and will not--simply return to its old habits and forms. The global health emergency has changed how we live, travel, and work. It has altered how we use and navigate space, what we expect regarding safety and sanitation, and the way we greet strangers and loved ones. . . " p. 59, Architect (journal of AIA), Jan/Feb 2021. 

The theme of the issue is Post-Vaccine Architecture. And the vaccine will change a lot, but it won't restore our faith in our government, it won't let us forget how politicians used us, and how our leaders accepted the call of power over the call of service. The vaccine can't restore the lost dreams, careers, businesses, relationships and lives. It can't undo the memories of cowering in our homes or replace the time we might have had with friends and relatives who have died. The top 1% in technology have become richer and more controlling; grifters, special interests and unions are absconding with our money buried in the Covid relief bills; the people who should have protected us have failed us; and their children, families and future move ahead without a hitch and are not being harmed. The poor and disadvantaged have lost even more ground after some spectacular gains the previous 3 years -- especially the children closed out of their schools. 

Churches, schools, and workplaces need to rethink many issues and policies. Don't allow the architects, engineers, governors, and politicians to do your decision making. We've had enough of "experts" telling us what to do and then responding without thinking it through.

Why are librarians' salaries so low?

From my blog 5 years ago, March 2006.

There are people needing promotion and tenure to study this, but here's my take. Librarians have no organization to represent their own interests. Oh, they have lots of organizations--out the wazoo--but just look at the names: American Library Association; Medical Library Association; Association of College and Research Libraries; California Library Association. Do you know what my husband's professional organization is called? The American Institute of Architects. Get it? It is representing ARCHITECTS. People, not government entities or buildings. And although I'm sure it leans left like most professional organizations, I haven't heard that the AIA is trying to get President Bush impeached while they redesign cities in Mississippi as service projects.

"Librarians and library workers are under-valued, and most people, whether members of the public, elected officials, faculty, corporate executives, or citizen board members, have little or no idea of the complexity of the work we do." from California Library Association web site.

In my opinion, this inclusion of “library workers” in all attempts to get the professional, degreed salaried librarians paid a fair wage worthy of a master's or higher degree is part of the problem. “Library workers” may have high school degrees or they may have PhDs in Victorian Poetry or Trombone Performance, but they are not degreed librarians. This may explain why people (even librarians) believe the degree isn’t important, and so the salaries can stay low. Anybody can do it, right? Just ask the ALA (which spins its wheels in political, i.e. federal and state, battles).

But, then, it's not my battle anymore--or even theirs. Librarianship is going the way of the buggy whip manufacturer. A few with special crafting skills are still needed, but it's not a career or profession anyone should reach for.

Call it anything you want, but it's still a tax increase

We got this from AIA today--just one of the many sneaky increases all businesses and private individuals will be getting in 2011 and 2012. This administration is a disaster, folks. Now I ask you, what business doesn't spend more than $600 to purchase goods and services? Obama says he wants to help small business, but he does everything he can to thwart them because he knows they are the backbone of a market, entrepreneurial economy. Even Apple and Microsoft were once small. No one goes into business to fail.

Effective 2012, architecture firms and other small businesses may be hit with a dramatic and unnecessary increase in paperwork and tax forms. If the current law takes effect, any company that makes payments of $600 or more to purchase goods or services from any vendor will be required to file a 1099 MISC tax form to report the transaction. In short, your business will need to complete this form for virtually every service or piece of equipment it purchases. Many firms, especially small businesses, will suffer disproportionately under these rules. But now we have a chance to stop this law from taking effect. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) has offered an amendment to a small business bill, which is currently being debated in the Senate, that would repeal this requirement. The amendment could be subject to a vote as early as today, July 28. We urge you to contact your Senators and tell them to repeal the 1099 paperwork requirement.

One man's tool is another man's tax

From AIA [American Institute for Architects] Angle, November 5, 2009

"Three weeks after AIA Board member Mickey Jacob, FAIA, testified before the House Small Business Committee about the AIA's plan to rebuild and renew the economy, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation designed to help small businesses weather the economic storm.

The Small Business Financing and Investment Act (HR 3854) includes several provisions designed to achieve the goals of the AIA’s Rebuild and Renew Plan for Long-term Prosperity that Jacob unveiled at the hearing. Among other things, the bill would expand eligibility for Business Stabilization Loans established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and increase the maximum loan size from $35,000 to $50,000. It also would streamline paperwork for the loans; in his testimony, Jacob cited the extensive amount of paperwork required to access Recovery Act programs and funding.

As the bill was being debated on the House floor, more than 1,000 AIA members contacted their members of Congress and encouraged them to vote in favor of the legislation. The bill eventually passed with wide bipartisan support by a vote of 389-32.

“For small architecture firms, the ability to access short-term lines of credit can mean the difference between survival and liquidation. In this economic crisis, too many firms have faced the horrible choice of having to lay off staff or going without pay in order to keep their doors open,” Jacob told the committee in early October. “Architects aren’t looking for bailouts; they need tools that help them and their clients create jobs through new building projects."

“The Small Business Financing and Investment Act is one key plank in our Rebuild and Renew Plan for Long-term Prosperity. Now Congress and the administration need to ensure a steady flow of credit to the real estate industry and enact policies that empower architects to design livable, sustainable, and vibrant communities," said Andrew Goldberg, Assoc. AIA, senior director, AIA Federal Relations.

During the debate, an amendment was offered that would have stripped the bill of many of its key provisions. The AIA Federal Relations team, while working with the Small Business Committee staff, used the AIA’s vast grassroots network in an effort to defeat the amendment. Within hours, the amendment’s sponsor officially withdrew the amendment.

The bill will now head to the U.S. Senate, and the AIA is organizing a similar grassroots effort to ensure the bill receives bipartisan support and can be signed into law."

And this doesn't begin to count the green bills AIA is supporting. Clap and Trade will kill Ohio's economy--we don't have much sun or wind, and no one seems to want our nuclear plants. Coal, of which we have an abundance and which can be made clean and efficient, has been demonized by the environmentalist earth worshipers. Imagine having to pass out the bacon not only to states but also professions and non-profits, all with "vast grass roots networks." Legislators must go crazy.

You can forget local control

Take a look at the proposed "green codes" of the building trades, and note they are to be "international." When I see the struggle we have here at tiny Lakeside with issues of private (but poor) taste, preservation, dues, taxes, and costs, I really wonder what you can do with an international building code for sustainability, except keep the 3rd world from developing, and the developed world in complete chaos.

When passed by the International Code Council (ICC) through its consensus process and adopted by code jurisdictions, such a code would make sustainable design a mandatory practice, not a suggested alternative. . .

Through the working document, the Sustainable Building Technology Committee (SBTC) and participants have been looking at codes and rating systems in Europe, Australia, and the United States. “The strength of the finished code will be in its unity,” Green says. “It will give architects, states, and municipalities one single tool in the I-Codes they need to guide sustainable development.”

The National Association of Governors (NGA), as part of its comprehensive national Energy Conservation and Improved Energy Efficiency policy, adopted in July the promotion of carbon neutral new and renovated buildings by 2030, a commitment proposed by the American Institute of Architects. Maybe ALA should follow. That's a lot of hot air. Or AMA. Or AARP.

Once we get all these oldsters to stop breathing (not really, even greenies know that is carbon neutral), eating meat and burning fossil fuel or using plastic or modern technology, maybe then we can reach the carbon neutral state so longed for by people whose religion believes Mother Nature has too much flatulence.

You're in analysis

Most of the fodder for my green-go blogs comes from architectural publications, usually the AIA. They are young and hungry and idealistic, and one of the poorest paid professions (next to librarianship) that requires an advanced degree. So they are on the green band wagon big time. They were so excited about Obama they were crossing their legs so as not to wet themselves. Here's the lastest--a bit more subdued.

The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that was signed into law in February has just now begun releasing torrents of tax dollars into an economy plagued by frozen credit markets, consumer anxiety, and a deepening recession. In line with the AIA’s Rebuild and Renew government advocacy initiative, much of this funding is already being applied directly to the built environment as new construction projects, renovations, repairs, and sustainability upgrades, though an emphasis on “shovel ready” projects may limit some design opportunities. Even more is yet to come. Most ARRA money won’t have been spent till next year, according to the Washington Post.

Sorry fellas (and a few ladies), it just ain't gonna happen. You people are in business. You design for other business owners (and a few government buildings to keep you going, but those bond issues aren't going to pass if we seniors with limp 401-k's have any say). Obama is a business killer, and so are green regulations. You thought he looked and sounded good (in front of a teleprompter). You thought he actually knew something. Those golden tax dollars you're lusting for are yours, you idiots! You've backed the Trojan horse; he's in the gates. Your profession is dead meat. Link to AIA Stimulus Guide.

Maybe you can get out the Sweets Catalog and brush up on commercial kitchens. While researching the USDA money I saw millions (or was it billions) for new school kitchen equipment. I'm sure it will require a trickle down to wall moving, new outlets, rewiring, pest control, plumbing, etc.

Page after page, lustful thinking

The AIA report on how to spend billions and billions of federal money on local and state projects to help the building and construction trades, many of which no one will want or use (transit, model schools, etc.) or will forget about as it filters through the bureaucracy pipe line for several years (block grants to communities), was supposed to include a "tax cut for businesses." I searched and searched, and finally found it on the final (9th) page.

Repeal Section 511 of P.L. 109-222, which requires federal, state and most local government agencies to levy a three-percent withholding on all government contracts, grants and other payments.

Although this provision is not slated to go into effect until 2011, many businesses are in the process of developing their plans for the next few years and are having to invest funds already in preparing accounting systems to handle the new withholding. In addition, the withholding would come into effect around the time that many economists believe that the economy will begin to recover. It makes no sense to provide economic relief to businesses on one hand and yet punish them for
performing government work with the other.

This is an unfunded mandate from 2005 which could cost some of the building trades more than their margin of profit. Certainly worthy of cutting, but I doubt that it's enough to offset the huge gorging of green the architects are craving and the banquet table loaded with pork. The building trades have been under the thumb of the federal government for at least 30-40 years--not as long as the farmers, but they've lost control of their professions. Why are all these buildings, roads and bridges in such tough shape if the government knew how to do everything better 20-30 years ago?

Every profession wants a piece of the bailout and stimulus plan

The building industry is just one of them, but never you mind, peek under the covers of your own profession and you'll find a group thrusting and sweating with a calculator trying to figure out how they can rape the tax payer.

"To revitalize the building sector, which accounts for about one in every 10 dollars of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, the AIA has developed the Rebuild and Renew Plan, which details its recommendations for the allocation of funds in President Obama’s economic recovery plan. The AIA is calling on the new administration and Congress to create policies that ensure these monies are spent on the planning, design, and construction of energy-efficient, sustainable buildings and healthy communities that are advantageous for both the environment and economy." AIArchitect This Week, 1-26-09

Hellooo out there! Did no one study American History? FDR lead us through a full decade of the Great Depression (yes, it began under Hoover, who like Bush also tried tinkling on the economy to get it to bloom). The poor and low income suffered the most under FDR's plans because the percentage of tax burden on the creators of wealth falls most heavily on the poor. Under FDR Americans began a slide into government nannyism that continues to this day, in thought, word and deed. Boomers have never known anything else than Uncle Sam as a cruel step-father and/or sugar daddy. Forgive us, Lord, may we not be lead into the temptation of hand-outs, bail-outs, and more welfare for business, banks, and farmers than we already have.

No bailout needed here for the abused client

Considering that SEC and FINRA moved not at all against Bernie Madoff despite their huge budgets and staff, despite tips he was running a ponzi scheme, I certainly stopped to ponder the justice of this rule violation for an architect:

Rule 2.104 Code of Ethics for architects states:

“Members shall not engage in conduct involving fraud or wanton disregard of the rights of others.”

The Complainant and his wife retained Mr. Alexieff to design and prepare construction documents for an addition to their house. During the time that the project was being designed and constructed, Mr. Alexieff failed to renew his architectural license in the state where he practiced and where the project was located.

The National Ethics Council ruled that Mr. Alexieff violated Rule 2.104 of the Code of Ethics by performing architectural services for the Complainant, including signing and sealing architectural drawings, without a valid architectural license. The Council concluded that the Complainant had a right to expect that the architect he retained was licensed and would maintain a current license throughout the duration of the project. The lapse in Mr. Alexieff’s architectural license was in wanton disregard of the Complainant’s rights because it created a high degree of risk that the Complainant would be adversely affected.

The Council imposed the penalty of a three-year suspension of membership on Mr. Alexieff. AIArchitect This Week, Dec. 19

He doesn't renew his license and gets a 3 year suspension of membership. Bernie must have dotted all the i's and crossed his t's in order to fool both the outgoing Cox (SEC) and incoming Schapiro (FINRA to SEC). Reminds me of the Democrats here in Ohio dumping on former Gov. Taft for a golf game, then appointing a bunch of crooks under Strickland, like the "plumbers" and Dann.

Voters to Weigh In on Ballot Initiatives on Election Day

In my opinion, if the moral leadership at the top is as deformed and stunted as Obama's, the local issues may not matter that much, but we all have local issues--school bonds, rezoning, e-regs, gambling casinos, and the ones that aren't clear--like Ohio's payday lenders. Here's a item from my husband's AIA newsletter, The Angle. I think architects must be torn. On the one hand, they are small businesses, and salaries and commissions are low. Obama's new taxes will kill the little guy, opening up more opportunities for the mid-size and larger firms to move in for the kill. On the other hand, they can't make it without the government contracts, and they are salivating over the go-green hype.

"Next Tuesday’s election has voters buzzing about the presidential candidates and the many congressional, state, and local races. However, ballot initiatives, unless they are highly controversial, tend to fly under the radar and do not receive the necessary press coverage so voters can fully understand the issues.

In this election, there are 152 initiatives on ballots across the nation.“Ballot initiatives bypass legislatures and put lawmaking power directly in the hands of the people,” notes Billie Kaumaya, manager of AIA State Relations. “For this reason, it is very important for voters to research each issue and to make an informed decision.”With that in mind, the State Relations team has compiled a chart of just some of the initiatives on the ballot next week that may impact architects and encourages members to further investigate these initiatives:

Taxation Initiative Summary

Arizona Proposition 100: Prohibits state and local governments from establishing a new tax or fee on the sale, purchase, or transfer of real property.

LiabilityInitiative Summary

Arizona Ballot Number 201: Issues a Homeowners’ Bill of Rights.
Sustainability/Energy Efficiency Initiative Summary

California Proposition 7: Requires utilities to generate 20% of their power from renewable energy by 2010, 40% by 2020, and 50% by 2025.

California Proposition 10: Provides $1.25 billion for research, development, and production of renewable energy technology and offers incentives for purchasing solar and renewable energy technology.

Florida Ballot Number 3: Authorizes the government to prohibit consideration of the installation of renewable energy source devices as a factor in property assessments for tax purposes.

Missouri Proposition C: Requires investor-owned electric utilities to generate or purchase electricity from renewable energy sources. Requires 2% of the retail sales to be from renewable sources by 2011, 5% by 2014, 10% by 2018, and 15% by 2021.

Land Use Initiative Summary

Georgia Amendment 3: Authorizes the state legislature to provide for the creation and regulation of infrastructure development districts. Allows counties and municipalities affected by these districts to approve their creation.

Louisiana Amendment 6: Removes certain restrictions for the taking of blighted property when property is taken for the removal of a threat to public health or safety caused by the existing use or disuse of the property.

Nevada Question 2: Prohibits the government from occupying property taken in an eminent domain action until the government provides all property appraisals. Requires the government to prove that property taken in an eminent domain action be taken for “public use.” Provides that just compensation be at the highest assessed value. (Nevada law requires constitutional amendments to pass in 2 consecutive elections. This also passed in November 2006).

Rhode Island Question 2: Authorizes a $2.5 million bond to purchase or protect conservation easements and public recreation easements, greenways and other open space, recreation lands, agriculture lands, forested lands, and state parks.

Water Infrastructure Initiative Summary

Maine Question 3: Authorizes the state to issue a $3.4 million bond to raise funds for drinking water and wastewater programs, including the construction of such facilities.

Missouri Constitutional Amendment 4: Limits the availability of grants and loans to public water and sewer districts only. Removes the limits on the amount of funds available.

Ohio Issue 3 Protects: private-property rights for owners of land with underlying groundwater or non-navigable waters located on or flowing through the property.

Pennsylvania Bond Question: Authorizes the state to borrow $400 million for grants and loans for the acquisition, construction, improvement, expansion, extension, repair or rehabilitation of drinking water system, storm water and no-point source projects, nutrient credits, and wastewater treatment system projects.

Building Permits Initiative Summary

Oregon Measure 63: Exempts owners of residential or farm property from building, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical permits and inspections when making certain changes or those totaling less than $35,000 in one year.

To view all of the ballot initiatives in your state, please visit your state’s election page."

When is a course description a lecture in disguise?

When it's "gender studies." This is University of Illinois, Fall 2007 course listing. The seething anger in this course description is palpable. Don't be fooled. There are set-asides for women and minorities in all government building projects, and like affirmative action, they hurt women and minorities in the long run because their credentials are then always in question. If I were a female architectural student, I sure wouldn't waste my precious hours (it's a difficult curriculum) on going to this class--I'd just read the description and turn in a paper using all the victim jargon I could think of.

Architecture 424/Gender and Women’s Studies 424: GENDER AND RACE IN CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE (Anthony) TR 11:30-12:50 210 A Architecture

Out of all licensed architects in the American Institute of Architects (AIA), why are only 11% women, 3% Latino/a, 2% Asian, and less than 1% African American? In 2006, what accounts for such staggeringly low figures? Why has architecture lagged so far behind its counterparts of law and medicine, where sizeable advances already have been made? When so-called “minorities” are rapidly becoming majorities in so many American cities, what are the consequences when the diversity of the population is not reflected in the diversity of the architectural profession? And how can this be changed? How can the new generation of architects better respond to diversity and begin to change the culture of the profession? How can you, personally, make a difference? The purpose of this course is to introduce students to an aspect of architecture that has all too often been overlooked: the role of women and people of color (i.e., African Americans, Latino/Latina Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and others). As in many other fields, the work of white males has historically dominated architecture. Furthermore, due to the persistence of the "star system," valuable contributions of women architects and architects of color, for the most part, have not been recognized. To a certain extent, this pattern can also be seen in the related environmental design professions of landscape architecture and urban design. This course calls attention to the work of both women architects and architects of color as consumers, critics, and creators of the environment--as clients and users, writers and researchers, design practitioners, educators, and students. Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

Subtext: White Men: watch your backs!

Green pork

Green, green, grant green they say,
On the side of Capitol Hill.
Green, green, not goin' away
'Cept where the grass is greener still.

"The House Committee on Education and Labor recently approved legislation that would create a new grant program for colleges and universities to promote sustainability. Originally reported in the AIA Angle in October, the Higher Education Sustainability Act of 2007 (H.R. 3637), drafted by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), would allow institutions of higher education to apply for federal funding for the development of programs and initiatives that address sustainability, specifically in the areas of green building, energy management, and waste management.

Education Committee Chair George Miller (D-CA) included The Higher Education Sustainability Act in a comprehensive higher education bill, The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 (H.R. 4137). The committee unanimously approved the legislation, and it is expected to be debated on the House floor before the end of the year. And on Tuesday, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced a version in the Senate (S.2444) . The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Jeff Bingman (D-NM); Christopher Dodd (D-CT); Edward Kennedy (D-MA); and John Kerry (D-MA). The House and Senate hope to finalize the bill and send it to the president by early next year." From AIA Angle, December 13, 2007